The Catholic Church "got it right" when, more than 30 years ago, it predicted that the contraceptive pill would not be good for marriages, the Australian Council for Natural Family Planning's president Susan Berg in a statement for Natural Family Planning Week.

"The many couples I see today as clients coming off the pill often state that using a modern, scientifically based method of natural family planning, like the sympto-thermal method, has saved their relationship," she told The Catholic Weekly. "The pill has led to our society becoming more sexually permissive with the premise that pregnancy can be avoided.

"However, unwanted pregnancies still occur and the abortion rate continues at a high level."

The Church celebrates Natural Family Planning Week this week (12-19 August).